It will be the Knicks and the Heat. A spot in the Eastern Conference will be on the line as the two old rivals, both underdogs to advance out of the first round, meet in the postseason for the sixth time.
Before the ball is thrown up at the Garden on Sunday afternoon, though, take a stroll down memory lane with The Post’s Zach Braziller as he looks back at what made these two teams such bitter foes:
Riley’s treasonous departure
After four 50-win seasons that included one trip to the NBA Finals and another run to the conference finals, Pat Riley leaves New York City for South Beach following the 1994-95 season.
He is dubbed “Pat the Rat,” sending in his resignation via fax to take over as Miami’s president and coach with one year remaining on his contract.
The Knicks accuse the Heat of tampering, and they wind up receiving a first-round pick and $1 million in cash.
Riley went on to coach the Heat for 11 seasons and won the 2006 NBA crown. He remains the team’s president at the age of 78.
Scuffle ruins a promising season
The 57-win Knicks were on their way to another showdown with the Bulls in the spring of 1997.
They lead the Heat 3-1 in this best-of-seven, second-round series, before a brawl erupts late in a lopsided Miami victory in Game 5.
Knicks guard Charlie Ward attempts to go low on a box out of Heat forward P.J. Brown and Brown flips Ward over his head, inciting the fracas.
Key Knicks Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Allan Houston and John Starks leave the bench area, which carries an automatic one-game suspension.
The Heat end up rallying to win the series over the shorthanded Knicks.
More fisticuffs, this time at the Garden
A year later, a fight benefits the Knicks.
Late in the fourth quarter of a Game 4 Knicks victory at the Garden, Johnson and Alonzo Mourning come to blows, with coach Jeff Van Gundy famously trying to stop the fight, and hanging onto Mourning leg like a Chihuahua.
Both Johnson and Mourning are suspended for the winner-take-all Game 5, and the Knicks pull the upset as the seven seed in Miami that serves as sweet revenge.
The Shot and a run follows
Houston’s runner in the lane with 0.8 seconds remaining in a do-or-die Game 5 in the first round in 1995 sends the eighth-seeded Knicks past the top-seeded Heat.
After becoming just the second No. 8 seed to win an opening-round series, the Knicks go on to return to the NBA Finals after getting past the Hawks and the Pacers.
They would eventually lose to the Spurs in five games, but that postseason run saved Van Gundy’s job.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks vs. Heat NBA playoff series
- Vaccaro: Knicks’ failure to help Brunson is why their season’s over
- Knicks battle but fall in season-ending Game 6 loss to Heat
- Knicks couldn’t survive two minutes without Brunson
- Brunson’s heroic night spoiled by late turnover
More heartbreak for the Heat
For the third straight season, the Knicks end Miami’s season in its own building.
This time, it’s in the second round in a classic seven-game series in which all seven games are decided by eight points or fewer.
The final game is decided by a single point in favor of the Knicks on Ewing’s dunk with 1:20 remaining.
Afterwards, frustrated Heat point guard Tim Hardaway calls referee Dick Bavetta “Knick Bavetta.”’
Want to catch a game? You can find tickets for all upcoming Knicks games here.
The King takes his talents to South Beach
Riley beats the Knicks again, this time off the court, as the Heat president is able to secure the services of LeBron James in the summer of 2010.
The Knicks were one of his many suitors, but the allure of joining close friend Dwyane Wade won out. James would win two championships in Miami as the Knicks continue to wallow in mediocrity.
Stoudemire against the fire extinguisher
After a hard-fought Game 2 loss in the opening round of the 2012 playoffs, a frustrated Amar’e Stoudemire takes a swing at the casing containing a fire extinguisher.
He requires stitches to heal the wound on his left hand, and was limited the rest of the series, which the Heat handily won in five.
